Bahamas News

Bahamas Prime Minister Speaks at 76th Session of UN General Assembly

Published

3 years ago

September 26, 2021

Deandrea Hamilton

SATURDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2021

“Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to

the needs of the planet, respect the rights of

people and revitalize the United Nations” Introduction

#TheBahamas, September 26, 2021 – Esteemed Colleague Heads of State and Heads of Government, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen;

Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres;

President of the General Assembly, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives:

On September 16^th, Bahamian citizens took to the polls to make their voices heard. It is an honour to meet with you fewer than ten days after this peaceful exercise of the democratic process.

I wish to extend congratulations to the

Maldives, a sister Small Island Developing State, on their election to the helm of this General Assembly. Know that you will find The Bahamas to be a strong, engaged and thoughtful partner for the road ahead.

We also congratulate Secretary-General Gutteres on his re-election to a second term, and wish him every success.

Colleagues, we are meeting at a most extraordinary time. We come here from different corners of the earth, with our theme — “building resilience through hope” – reflecting our shared determination to pivot from crisis to opportunity.

These crises are inter-connected and multifaceted, and need a global response. We must collaborate to end the Covid-19 pandemic and address public health issues.

We must co-operate to mitigate the effects of climate change.

And access to development financing must be equitable and fair.

An inadequate response to these issues will have dire consequences for the global economy.

Collaborating to End the Pandemic

The world has changed enormously since we first learned about the COVID-19 virus.

This crisis made abundantly clear what has always been true: we’re all in this together.

In every country, we have lost loved ones. We have seen our healthcare workers battle bravely. We have contended with disruption, uncertainty, and grief.

We have benefited from extraordinary cooperation and achievements in science, but we also had to contend with misinformation and disinformation, and insufficient attempts to curb bad actors propagating the same. Bad information has flowed across borders, undermining public health and public trust.

The pandemic has been very difficult for countries like mine. We face an extraordinary need for new resources in health and education and housing just as our economy is contracting dramatically.

Our inter-connected world means that we will only be safe when all countries, including mine, have the tools needed to fight this virus.

This requires the equitable distribution of vaccines. That includes distribution to Small Island Developing States, who are not manufacturers. Stockpiling for self-preservation is a fallacy.

You will only be safe when we are all safe!

I wish to thank the Government and People of the United States for their donations of vaccines to The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean region.

This gift, alongside donations received previously from India, China, Antigua & Barbuda, and Dominica, will save many Bahamian lives. This is in addition to the ongoing support of PAHO, CARPHA and the COVAX facility and the regional collaboration among CARICOM countries.

But this is still not enough. We need more. Our demand for vaccines has significantly outstripped supply.

Along with vaccines, it is important that safe treatments and therapeutics, are made accessible and designated as public goods. We need to fortify critical global supply chains, and distribution mechanisms, so that we can win this battle, and be better prepared for the next one. You will only be safe, when we are all safe! The Bahamas joins those reiterating the need to fully fund the ‘Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator’ and its COVAX facility. And we reiterate our alignment with CARICOM’s call for continued high-level engagement to urgently address access to vaccines.

When vaccines are deployed to reduce transmission, everyone is made safer – not just the direct recipient. We can, by doing so, reduce the opportunities for new and more dangerous variants to emerge. This virus is global and requires a global response. COP26 Matters/ Disasters Response

Colleagues, even before COVID-19 shut down my country’s borders, we were dealing with a catastrophic shock to our economy and our country.

Two years ago this month, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic caused catastrophic damage to our islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Hurricane Dorian was strengthened by waters that were well above average temperatures; the earth’s changing climate means that hurricanes like Dorian linger longer and cause more damage.

The devastation caused by this storm is part of our country’s landscape; the physical and emotional wreckage are still with us.

Recently I spoke with a woman who lost her husband and her three children in the storm. Every rainfall is a reminder of the horror. How can we continue to do nothing in the face of such tragedy?

The very worst thing about Dorian is our sense of foreboding – our sense that this hurricane, which took so much from so many – is only the beginning.

None of us believe this is a once-in-a-generation storm. Instead, we know it is a nightmare that could easily recur – tomorrow, next week, next month.

To any leader who believes we still have plenty of time to address climate change, I invite you to visit Abaco and Grand Bahama.

For island nations such as ours, climate change is here. And is a real and present danger.

Before Hurricane Dorian in 2019, we faced hurricanes: in 2015, in 2016, and in 2017. We cannot survive this “new normal”.

Thus, we are not here to call for measured steps. We are here to say that big and radical change is the only response that can save our country. We are out of time.

We stand with CARICOM countries and Small Island Developing States to remind the world that those who are hit hardest by the impact of climate change, are the least responsible.

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report warned that avoiding the worst outcomes requires immediate action; this is, as the Secretary-General noted, a ‘Code Red’ moment.

Our countries disproportionately bear the burden of the “Recovery Trap”, in which we attempt to rebuild to the tune of billions – billions we never had, even before COVID.

Colleagues, in a few short weeks, we will meet in Glasgow, Scotland.

The 26^th Climate Change Conference cannot be like the twenty-five that preceded it – we cannot pretend that incremental change is sufficient. We cannot set goals we have no intention of meeting. We cannot keep postponing the change we need for countries like mine to survive.

If we are the serious leaders these times require, we must raise our ambitions, and make real commitments to cut emissions.

We must make real progress on bridging the divides in investment, and access-to-technology and skills, especially in areas relevant to climate mitigation and adaptation.

We must strengthen technical assistance for creating, nationally-determined contribution (NDC) commitments, along with commensurate ‘implementation financing’.

We must give teeth and substance to the mechanism for loss and damage if it is to be a meaningful tool for supporting fair recovery, and not simply an exercise in defining and highlighting disaster risk.

Along with our sister nations in CARICOM,

The Bahamas calls for greater climate financing and the need for more engagement and progress on a Climate Investment Platform.

And, as a matter of priority, more innovative financing and debt solutions are needed, including debt for climate adaptation swaps. We also look forward to the capitalization of a Caribbean Resilience Fund. We also need adequate resourcing and timely access to the ‘Green Climate Fund’ and the ‘Climate Finance Accelerator’.

In our just-concluded campaign, we called for new renewable energy initiatives in our own country. We are going to build structural and economic resilience, in a green recovery, with plans to invest in climate-smart infrastructure and environmental protection.

The Bahamas will lead on wetland and ocean preservation, and we will seek re-election to the International Maritime Organization. We look forward to the Biodiversity Conference

next month; we are committed to the successful conclusion of negotiations towards an international treaty to conserve marine bio-diversity. Advancing an MVI/ Affordable, Accessible Development Financing

Colleagues, the compounding impact of economic, environmental, and now public health shocks, means that access to affordable finance will be the real driver of progress in the near and long term.

The global development financing gap for meeting Sustainable Development Goals by

2030, estimated in 2019 to be $2.5 trillion, is only increasing.

Today we reiterate our country’s support for the inclusion of a Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index in the decision-making of international financial institutions, and the international donor community.

On a related front, we believe that access to the global financial system and tax cooperation should not be undermined: by ad hoc and consistently shifting and arbitrary goal posts, and threats of exclusion from the global economy.

Financial Services is a crucial component of the Bahamian economy. We see an indispensable role for the UN in leveraging its universal jurisdiction for greater oversight of global antimoney laundering, de-risking and tax cooperation matters.

Cuba

On a separate note, I wish to convey The Bahamas’ rejection of the ongoing economic blockade of our sister Caribbean nation of Cuba.

Conclusion

As I conclude, I recall the words of our nation’s first Prime Minister, Sir Lynden Pindling, as he stood here 48 years ago this month, on the occasion of our nation’s accession to the United Nations.

He spoke about the journey of our people, from slavery to colonialism to sovereign independence.

He spoke of our country’s wish to be neither dominated nor coerced, and our wish to build friendships with nations who respected our freedom.

He could not have foreseen at that time the challenges we face today, with intensifying hurricanes and a deadly virus that has left no nation untouched. But he saw already that “no nation is an island unto itself” and spoke of the interdependence of all countries. That interdependence has never been clearer.

Rest assured, colleagues, that in The Bahamas you will find a trusted partner, committed to moving forward on our collective goals for sustainable development, security, and peace.

Bahamas News

Freeport Business Expo to connect Grand Bahama businesses and entrepreneurs to expert resources

Published

1 hour ago

April 27, 2024

Deandrea Hamilton

Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited

April 29, 2024 – Freeport, The Bahamas – In line with its mission to create a stronger, more connected Freeport economy, the Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA) is pleased to share details of the upcoming Freeport Business Expo: Tourism Edition, taking place on Thursday, May 2, 2024 at the Grand Lucayan Convention Center in Grand Bahama.

“As the GBPA continues its work to attract investors to Freeport, we offer this showcase of local and international businesses offering services and opportunities to potential and existing licensees,” stated Ian Rolle, GBPA President. “This Expo will not only connect unique international service providers with Bahamian entrepreneurs aiming to introduce new tourist attractions, but also bring together financing institutions to support Bahamian-owned start-ups and existing businesses in the industry.”

The emphasis on tourism at the 2024 Expo ensures that those in tourism-focused businesses are certain to benefit. The event will offer opportunities to meet potential business partners, gain insight on financial opportunities, engage with leaders in workshops and one-on-one sessions, and get answers on starting a Freeport business and obtaining a GBPA license.

“We regularly host community business expos,” said Glendia Sweeting, Manager of Quality Assurance and Special Projects. “But we recognize the significant benefit of an expo focused on enhancing tourism business offerings through connecting international service providers and Bahamian entrepreneurs. We have more than thirty local and national exhibitors taking part on May 2^nd, along with several international service providers.”

Multiple investment projects currently in progress and planned in the city of Freeport is creating anticipation for existing and potential entrepreneurs and this expo is geared towards preparing them for these opportunities. “Grand Bahama is going to experience a significant growth spurt in the next one to three years. I would strongly encourage everybody who wants to get involved in business to look at Grand Bahama as one of the top choices, especially over the next three years,” said Mr. Rolle.

The Expo opens on Wednesday, May 1^st with a welcome reception from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A full day of learning and networking opportunities follows on Thursday, May 2^nd. GBPA’s partners in the Freeport Business Expo include:

Grand Bahama Island Promotion Board
Ministry for Grand Bahama
Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce
Ministry of Tourism
Bahamas Immigration
Bahamas Customs
Five Star Shipping Company
Viva Wyndham Fortuna
Bahamas Air
Grand Lucayan Hotel

Registration for access to the Expo’s exhibitors is free, and all-access passes are available for purchase. Event details and registration information may be found at freeportbusinessexpo.com.

Bahamas News

Pacesetting Cohort of Eleuthera Residents Graduate from Leading Light Programme

Published

13 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Shanieka

Office of University Relations

22^nd April 2024

Eleuthera, THE BAHAMAS – A pioneering cohort of 43 Eleuthera residents graduated from the University of The Bahamas’ (UB’s) free Leading Light Programme, sponsored by Disney Cruise Line (DCL) on Friday 19^th April, 2024.

The programme, launched in February 2024 and delivered through UB’s Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning (CeLEARN), offers a series of courses to ensure Eleuthera has a proficient workforce capable of delivering unparalleled hospitality leadership as the island experiences a sharp growth in tourism arrivals. The graduation ceremony was held at the Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce Business Hub in Rock Sound, Eleuthera.

The courses focused on tourism and hospitality skills, leadership development and effective communication. They were taught by UB faculty and included guest lecturers such as former Director General of Tourism, Minister of Tourism and Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Vincent Vanderpool Wallace and veteran hospitality professor Dr. Lincoln Marshall.

“This programme represents the mission-driven collaboration and skills-building that University of The Bahamas is committed to fostering, supported by an important industry partner like Disney Cruise Line,” noted UB President (Acting) Janyne Hodder. “Given the importance of the tourism industry to our nation, we know how vital it is that we continually equip our workforce with diverse expertise to uphold our reputation for excellence in hospitality. We are grateful for this collaboration with Disney Cruise Line which has facilitated programme delivery in Eleuthera, enabling UB to broaden access to much sought-after professional development.”

As training and skills development programming grows across the island of Eleuthera, the Leading Light Programme experience was tailored to be free of charge, accessible and conclude with participants earning a UB certification that signals the high standard of education for which the University is recognized. Students came from all walks of life and traveled from as far away as Hatchet Bay in the North, and Bannerman Town in the South to Rock Sound for classes. Programme participants also received a stipend to defray the cost of commuting and other personal expenses.

Nora Smith, a manager at the picturesque Jack’s Bay Club, yearned to increase her skills.

“I would recommend this programme to anyone because The Bahamas is known as a tourism destination. Taking this course in tourism and hospitality, can help me to go far in dealing with tourists daily in my workplace,” she said.

Graduate Javonne Richards appreciated the comprehensive curriculum and the ease of access to the courses that were offered.

“This programme not only fills a gap in our Eleuthera education offerings, but also equips participants with the tools and knowledge needed to thrive in dynamic work environments,” he noted.

Director General of Tourism Mrs. Latia Duncombe, who delivered the keynote address at the graduation ceremony, shared three essential qualities for successful tourism professionals: energy, creativity and a welcoming personality.

“Your fresh perspectives and innovative ideas are invaluable to creating unique, unforgettable customer experiences,” said Mrs. Duncombe. “While technology such as Artificial Intelligence, also have a role to play, human interaction remains essential.”

Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs and Member of Parliament for Central and South Eleuthera the Honourable Clay Sweeting commended the partnership that is supporting community growth.

“I am proud of every Eleutheran who came from near and far to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Minister Sweeting. “As Eleuthera’s economy continues to grow, especially in Central and South Eleuthera, I encourage more corporate partners to invest in the local community in innovative ways, like the University of The Bahamas and Disney Cruise Line have, so that we can continue to strengthen our local communities.”

Two additional cohorts will be offered this year, increasing the pipeline of Eleutherans who are optimally skilled as hospitality and tourism ambassadors. Registration for the summer programme will open on May 17 and the second cycle of courses begins June 17, 2024. Fall programme dates are September 23 through November 29, 2024. To learn more about the Leading Light Programme and how to enroll, please email atynes@eleutherahambercommerce.com.

Bahamas News

Royal Caribbean to open Royal Beach Club on Paradise Island in 2025

Published

21 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Shanieka

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24, 2024

By LINDSAY THOMPSON

Bahamas Information Services

NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Government entered into a Heads of Agreement with Royal Caribbean International, followed by a Ground Breaking Ceremony for the construction of Royal Beach Club on Paradise Island, at an estimated $165 million.

The agreement was signed on Monday, April 22, 2024 during a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister.

According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation the Hon. Chester Cooper, the project will further enhance the tourism product, on the heels of an estimated 9 million visitor arrivals.

He deemed it “an eventful day” with a reliable partner in RCI of more than 50 years with The Bahamas, and the continued confidence that investors have in the tourism product and economy.

He said it is a partnership with “excellence experiences” as he delighted in the fact that there will be more for the 25,000 cruise ship guests in port.

Also on hand for the activities to seal the agreement were Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis; Minister of Health and Wellness, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville; Minister of Energy and Transport, the Hon. JoBeth Coleby-Davis; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Senator the Hon. Ryan Pinder; Director of Investments Phylicia Woods-Hanna; executives of Royal Caribbean International and Royal Caribbean Group, and other officials.

“With the signing of this Heads of Agreement for the development of the Royal Beach Club on Paradise Island, we embark on a $165 million project to further enhance the vitality of our tourism product,” the prime minister said.

Spearheaded by RBC Paradise Island Ltd. and PDI Paradise Ltd., subsidiaries of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the project will galvanize entertainment and recreational offerings for Bahamians and visitors alike.

The master plan for the Royal Beach Club includes pools, cabanas, and Bahamian boutiques, offering an unparalleled on-shore experience for visitors.

“This development will prove to be a monumental step forward for Bahamian inclusion in major tourism projects that will serve as a model for others to emulate,” the prime minister said.

The prime minister then underscored the importance of what the project would mean for Bahamians in the broader scope of things.

An estimated 200 jobs will be created for Bahamians. However, an opportunity is being provided for shared ownership in this development.

It is anticipated that PDI Paradise Ltd. will hold at least 51% of the shares in the Royal Beach Club, with the remaining 49 % shares being allocated to the National Investment Fund for the benefit of Bahamians.

“Through this partnership, we will provide new employment and economic opportunities for this nation. Local businesses will see their share of opportunities as well. There will be Bahamian boutiques creating avenues for small business ownership,” the prime minister said.

The project will also encompass a joint venture with a Bahamian-owned entity for the operation of a water taxi business; it will provide transportation options for guests of the Royal Beach Club, as well as other attractions in Nassau Harbour – enhancing accessibility while creating additional avenues for economic growth within the community.

“Ultimately, this project will largely be run by Bahamians, owned by the Bahamian people, and supported by Bahamian businesses.

“When we talk about the need to ensure that major tourism projects are primarily for the benefit of the Bahamian people, these are the kinds of opportunities that we are talking about,” the prime minister said.

He observed that the Royal Beach Club represents the latest successful chapter in the story of Paradise Island’s growth as a tourism mecca. Initial negotiations for the project began under the previous administration. Royal Club Beach is expected to open in 2025.

“By signing today’s agreement, we add another world-class experience to our tourism offerings. And even more importantly, we take a bold step toward greater Bahamian empowerment in the tourism industry. This is our nation, and we must ensure that, first and foremost, our service industries serve us,” the prime minister said.

He concluded, “We are more optimistic than ever before about our economic prospects with tourism leading the way as our number one industry that continues to grow at a record-breaking pace.

At the ground breaking site just west of the Atlantis Resort, officials tilled the soil, marking the beginning of the construction process.

Jason Liberty, president, and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group said that events regarding the agreement “symbolize partnership, momentum, and continued economic development for so many Bahamian entrepreneurs and the entire community.

“We are grateful to our partners for their support, especially the Bahamian government, who stand with us here today in celebration of what is to come.”